


Welcome to Season 5

by dragonflyMerri



Category: Brolin, Merlin (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-23
Updated: 2012-03-23
Packaged: 2017-11-02 10:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/367917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflyMerri/pseuds/dragonflyMerri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s the start of filming for season 5, and everyone is buzzing about the new and improved Colin Morgan. Something has definitely changed - and Angel and Katie are determined to find out what. And Colin and Bradley finally have that talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to Season 5

The room got noisier and noisier as more of the cast entered the room. Shouts of welcome and lots of hugs and laughter greeted each new arrival, accompanied by exclamations over changed looks, new outfits and the good-natured teasing of friends reunited.

Finally Johnny banged his cup on the table to get everyone’s attention. “People! Can we have some semblance of order please! Can you all have a seat….now please!

The assembled cast all took a seat around the oval table, still kibitzing with each other.

Again, Johnny banged his cup on the table. “Hello! Can we come to order please? Quiet down everyone…..thank you.”

It was a very happy group around the table as they all looked at each other.

“Hey – where’s Colin?” asked Eion.

“Colin will be here shortly. His plane was delayed, but he’s on his way,” replied Julian, taking a seat at the table. “While we wait, and so we don’t have to repeat ourselves, why don’t we go around the table and everyone can tell us what you’ve been up to on the break?”

One by one the group told of their adventures during the four month break between the end of season four and the start of season five.

Cheers, jeers, claps and cries of “Well done” greeted each tale told. Rupert was in the midst of telling his story of doing a video shoot for a Coldplay song when the door opened and Colin entered. All eyes turned his way and the chatter faded away to a stunned silence.

Colin stood at the entrance, a faint smile on his face. But instead of the Colin they were used to, the slightly built man, who despite his height, gave off the impression of frailty… the man who’s posture seemed to apologize for taking up space… the man with an air of vulnerability and uncertainty, instead of this man that they had known for four years, the Colin that stood in the doorway was stunning.

Standing proud and confidently, he had filled out – his shoulders seemed broader, his chest more muscled. He stood straighter. His hair had grown and was now long and shaggy, lightly brushing his eyes – eyes that virtually glowed with happiness and self-belief.

Then his mouth quirked in his trademark grin and his shoulders hunched up in that dorky Colin Morgan shrug and the spell was broken.

Angel was the first to greet him, leaping out of her chair to throw her arms around him in a giant hug. The rest of the cast quickly followed and it was general mayhem until Johnny once again banged his cup on the table.

“All right everyone, can we please get back to the meeting! Colin, nice of you to join us. Places everyone, please!”

Colin sat down next to Bradley, the rest of the group had automatically allotted the two sidekicks their customary side-by-side seating.

“You’re looking great, mate!” said Bradley, eyeing Colin up and down. “No need to ask if you had a good break.”

Colin’s shy smile was still there. “Yeah, good break.”

Rupert picked up his story of filming with Coldplay, and they finished going around the table, telling of their break-time activities. Colin was the last to go.

“Um…I went to Australia for the fan convention and got to do some touring around. Did some Merlin promo in the US. I did a play in the West End that did quite well. Oh and um…did some TV guest appearances, another Dr Who, Primeval and a Sherlock. Guess that’s about it.”

“So can we expect another life-size cut out of your Dr Who character?” Bradley asked, to general laughter from around the table. And Colin endured some light ribbing from the cast before Johnny called for order again.

Then Johnny and Julian brought the cast up to speed on the story arc that would mark the fifth and final year of filming the show Merlin.

When the meeting broke up, everyone once again gathered around Colin and there was much ado made of the difference in his body structure. Colin’s blushes and stammered half-explanations only fuelled the good-natured ribbing. As they filed out the room, Bradley naturally fell in step with Colin.

“Seriously though, Col, you are looking rather more buff then usual – been working out?”

“What? No.” Colin ducked his head in his usual manner.

“Something’s different about you – more than your body, I mean.”

A secret smile slipped over Colin’s face and he gave Bradley a sideways glance. “Just in a good place.”

Bradley eyed him speculatively. “Care to elaborate?”

“Nope.” Colin laughed at Bradley and gives him a shrug “Just happy. It does happen you know.”

Bradley looked at Colin with suspicion, but dropped the subject.

****

Over the next two weeks, everyone was remarking on the change in Colin. He had definitely changed body-wise – the costume department had to alter all his costumes, taking them out or making new ones entirely. 

When he stood chatting with the knights, Bradley was alarmed to notice that he seemed to fit with them, standing with the same self-assurance of a man confident in his masculinity…something that could never have been said about Colin before. And which technically, made Bradley the smallest of them all.

For Bradley, the change that was the most marked was the personal connection he shared with Colin. Expecting to slip back into his old relationship of easy banter, kidding and shared confidences, Bradley found that Colin somehow seemed….deeper and more self-contained . He also wasn’t as accessible as before.

During script read-through’s Colin easily slipped back into his Merlin demeanor. But in the free time they had, Colin seemed pre-occupied. His cell phone chirped frequently with text messages, messages that Colin only checked when he was away from others. The messages always brought a smile to his face, occasionally a laugh. His body language while reading the messages was soft and languid. He would frequently lean up against a wall, head tilted as he texted back. When he was called back to join the group, his eyes often had a far-away quality that he quickly shuttered when he became their Colin again.

“What the hell is going on with Colin?” Bradley asked in annoyance when he was once again snubbed by Colin saying he had something to do, and disappearing from the group.

‘No idea,” said Angel “But he sure is a happy little camper these days.”

“He’s always a happy little camper, so no change there,” supplied Katie.

“Yeah, but something’s going on. He’s different.” Insisted Bradley

“In a good way. The fans are gonna love the new and improved Merlin! I know I’m appreciating the new and improved Colin.” Angel grinned.

When Bradley scowled at her, she conceded. “OK, he’s….different. But I’m happy for him. He’s happy, I’m happy.”

“I’m happy for him,” piped up Katie.”

“Nuts! The whole lot of you.” Bradley snapped and walked away. The two girls watched him go.

“He’s got a point, Angel. Something is definitely up with Col.”

“Yeah, I know. And I think I know what it is.”

“He’s in love,” the girls said in unison, then burst out in delighted laughter.

They made a pact. While they were not about to intrude on their notoriously private cast mate, they would keep their eyes peeled for any evidence of who Colin’s love interest might be.

****

It was the third week of filming, and following make-up and costume, Bradley, Colin, Angel and the knights piled into vans for the 30 minute trip out to Puzzlewood, where they would be shooting for the morning. Katie was in the studio all day shooting green screen with unit two.

They all stood on their mark in the forest waiting for the final set-up of the cameras. Bradley was shifting from foot to foot, clapping his hands. Colin and Angel were in sync as they jumped up and down on the spot. The knights all had their own pre-shoot prep to keep their energy up. While she jumped, Angel looked around at the behind the scenes action. Her attention was caught by someone leaning on a tree, just standing and watching.

Squinting, she asked Colin, who was bouncing beside her, “It that Benedict Cumberbatch?”

“What?” Colin asked startled, looking around until he found where she was staring. A huge grin broke out on his face and he raised an arm in greeting “Ben! Hi!”

Angel looked at him in surprise, “You know Benedict Cumberbatch?”

“Yeah, we met when I did Sherlock. I invited him to come and visit our set.”

“You know Benedict Cumberbatch and you never said anything??”

“I know David Tennant too… and Matt Smith…and the cast of Primeval and..”

“OK, OK. I’m just saying, did you know he was coming to visit the set today?”

“Um, yeah…”

“PLACES EVERYONE. CAMERA 2 READY. AND THREE, TWO, ONE….” The director’s voice bellowed through the megaphone.

The action unfolded as the knights swung into action, fighting the bandits. Arthur had his hands full trying to protect both Gwen and Merlin, although Gwen, back to back with Arthur, was welding her sword with a ferocity that Merlin lacked. On cue, Merlin went flying backward then scuttled back on all fours looking terrified as a giant welded a battle axe over his head.

“Merlin!” Arthur screamed before flinging his sword at the giant.

“CUT!”

Arthur’s sword cluttered harmlessly on the ground, well short of its intended victim.

“RESET PEOPLE, ON ARTHUR PLEASE. ANGEL WE NEED YOU IN THIS SHOT. EVERYONE ELSE RELAX.”

Colin got off the ground and headed over to Benedict. Angel saw them greet each other with smiles and a hearty hug. Then they wandered a few feet away from the crew, chatting.

“Who’s that?” asked Bradley, looking over his shoulder at Colin chatting with someone.

“Benedict Cumberbatch – apparently he’s visiting the set today.”

“Sherlock? What’s he doing here?”

“Colin knows him. He invited him.”

“He never said anything to me.”

“He never said anything to anyone. But that’s Colin for you.”

Bradley snorted in agreement.

While the shot was being reset, Angel watched Colin and Benedict chatting, since they were in her line of vision. As she watched, Colin leaned up against a tree in a casual, relaxed posture, head tilted. The two men chatted and laughed and were totally in their own world. A sudden suspicion hit Angel.

“Oh…. my God!”

“What?” asked Bradley over his shoulder.

“What?”

“You said Oh my God. Oh my God what?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing – I was just er…. thinking about something.”

“Something that made you say Oh my God?”

“What? Oh, yeah. Just remembered I forgot to um…. get laundry soap.”

“Laundry soap?” Bradley turned to look at her as if she was crazy. “You’re thinking of laundry in the middle of Puzzlewood?”

“Yeah, I do that sometimes.” Angel was flustered. “Turn around, they’re trying to get focus depth on you.”

 

Angel was beside herself but it was 45 minutes before she could get to her phone to text Katie.

I KNOW WHO IT IS – CALL ASAP

It was an hour later before Katie texted back one word WHO?

NOT ON PHONE. LUNCH. FIND ME!!

****

When the first unit returned from Puzzlewood, the second unit – filming Katie in the green screen, had already broken for lunch. As soon as the van came to a stop, Angel pushed her way out of the van and ran for the canteen.

“Looks like someone’s hungry,” said Rupert

“Or she’s forgotten her laundry soap again,” muttered Bradley.

“What?”

“What?”

“What the hell are you talking about? What laundry soap?”

“Oh god, not you too!” and Bradley stomped off to the canteen, leaving Rupert staring after him as if he’d grown a second head.

****

In the canteen, Angel found Katie sitting at the empty cast table. Picking a seat directly across from her, and putting her tray down, both girls leaned forward in conspiracy.

“Well?”

“We had a special guest visiting our set. Benedict Cumberbatch.”

“From Sherlock? Wow, is he as good looking in real life as on telly?”

“Yeah he is. He was out at Puzzlewood watching us film.”

“And?”

“And he knows Colin.”

“So?”

“So…he knows Colin….he knows… Colin!!” Angel used her eyes to emphasize her point.

Katie’s eyes got huge as she realized what Angel was saying.

“He knows Colin?!!”

“Yes! ….at least I think he knows him. I was watching them when they were talking. You know how Colin goes off to answer his text messages and he gets all ‘squiggy’ and leans up against the wall to read the texts? Well he was doing that when talking to Benedict.”

Katie started giggling. “Oh my god, are you sure? Did anyone else see?”

Angel was now giggling too. “I don’t think so. They were being all proper if anyone came near. If I hadn’t seen Colin leaning against the tree, I never would have guessed!”

“What are you two cackling about?” asked Bradley, setting his tray down next to Angel and plunking down in his seat.

“What?” “What?” the two girls looked up with their best innocent faces.

“What’s the big secret?”

“There’s no secret.” Said Katie airily, picking up a carrot to munch.

“Yeah – we were just talking about….um.. laundry.”

Bradley looked at Angel in complete disbelief. “What is it with you and laundry?”

“Why do we keep discussing laundry?” asked Rupert as he took a seat next to Katie, across from Bradley.

“What?” the girls heads swiveled between Bradley and Rupert in confusion.

“Well Bradley’s all upset about laundry soap and now you two are talking laundry. Something I should know?”

The four of them exploded in simultaneous, confused conversation that involved a lot of name-calling and assertions of craziness. Into this melee Colin and Benedict approached the table with their trays, one on either side of the table. They sat down opposite each other and it was a few moments before the four combatants noticed and stopped bickering.

“Are they always like this?” Benedict asked Colin in a moment of calm. Colin grinned and shrugged.

“Introduce us Colin.” Said Katie, all smiles and charm.

Introductions were made and Benedict answered questions about his show. Colin stayed quiet and watched his co-stars charm, and be charmed by Benedict. Every now and then a brief smile flirted across his face for no reason.

With a gleam in her eye, Angel ‘accidently’ knocked her fork to the floor. Bending down to pick it up she glanced over to see Colin and Benedict’s legs entwined under the table. Sitting up with a barely contained smile on her face, she picked up her phone and texted Katie. THEY’RE PLAYING FOOTSIE UNDER THE TABLE.

Katie picked up her phone, opened the message, and promptly spewed her mouthful of mashed potatoes across the table, straight at Bradley.

“What the hell?” Bradley reared back from the projectile potatoes.

Katie gave Angel a vicious kick to the shins and Angel jumped so hard she knocked over her glass of milk, all over Bradley dinner plate.

“WHAT THE HELL??” Bradley leaped out of the way of milk now running over the table edge. “What is the matter with you two??”

“Sorry!” “Sorry Bradley, so sorry”. The girls apologized over each other and both reached out napkins to clean up the mess.

“Good thing you got out of the way, mate.” piped up Rupert “Else you’d have to send your costume to the laundry.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Will you stop talking about laundry!!” Bradley threw his arms in the air and stormed off.

Benedict looked at Colin with concern. “You do realize you have very strange cast mates, right?”

Colin nodded emphatically. “Been saying it all along.”

****

After lunch, Katie headed back to her green screen filming. Colin said that he had a three hour break so was taking Benedict around to meet some of the behind the scenes people. Angel, not wanting to intrude, allowed them to go their way.

Later when Bradley asked Angel where Colin was, she informed him that he was conducting a tour of the studio.

“No he’s not,” said Judy from hair and make-up, as she continued to fuss with Bradley’s hair. “I heard him tell Johnny that he and Benedict were heading back to the hotel for a break. Johnny made him take the Mercedes so he’d be back to set on time.”

“He left the set?” Bradley was slightly alarmed. Colin never left the set during filming. If he had extended breaks, he hung out in his trailer or one of the lounges. Looking over at Angel, he was even more alarmed “What the hell are you grinning about?”

“Me? Nothing.” Said Angel and she pulled out her phone and began texting. AFTERNOON DELIGHT BACK AT HOTEL.

Katie’s response, half an hour later was simply !!!!!

****

Bradley finished filming for the day while Colin still had a few more hours to shoot with Richard. Benedict sat through all Colin’s filming, sometimes chatting with the camera crew, sometimes chatting with Colin between takes.

Bradley returned to the hotel with the knights, hoping to catch up with Colin later. However, when it was 11pm and he still couldn’t reach Colin, he called Johnny in concern.

“Colin’s at a different hotel for the night. A….slight problem with his room. Nothing serious – he’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Which hotel is he at?”

“Umm, sorry, can’t remember off the top of my head. Is there a problem?”

“No, no. Just wanted to chat. I’ll catch him tomorrow.”

Bradley hung up feeling distinctly put out. He dialed Angel’s room.

“’ello?” Angel’s voice was muffled with sleep

“Angel? I can’t reach Colin. Johnny said he’s in a different hotel for the night”

“So?”

“So, seems kinda strange don’t you think? Colin never said there was a problem with his room.”

“He’s a big boy Bradley. He’ll be fine. Go to bed.”

“But don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Nope – not at all. Good night Bradley.” And she hung up on him.

Bradley scowled and rang Katie’s room.

“Hello?”

“Colin’s in another hotel for the night. I think that’s strange.” He said without preamble.

“I think it’s great. Good night Bradley.”

“Wait! Why is it great?”

“Change is as good as a rest. Good night Bradley.

“What? Wait! What the hell are you talking about?”

“Good night Bradley.”

“But Colin..”

“Is fine. GOOD NIGHT BRADLEY!” and she slammed the phone down on him.

****

Bradley was in a foul mood the next day. He rode to the set with Angel and Katie, who seemed completely unconcerned that Colin, their regular fourth, was missing. When he got to the set, Colin still wasn’t there. Enquiries told him that Colin was not due on set until mid-morning. Bradley checked the shooting schedule and discovered he didn’t actually have any scenes with Colin that day, so god knew when he would get a chance to talk to him.

During a break in filming, Eion flopped down beside him. “What’s up mate? You’ve been scowling all morning.”

Bradley looked at him sourly. He knew his bad mood was noticed by the others and had tried to stay away from them between shots. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Missing you little buddy?” Eion enquired slyly.

“No! I’m not missing Colin. Why would you ask that?”

Eion shrugged. “Well, he’s got a new playmate now. Thought you might be feeling a little out of sorts.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Seriously? You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

Eion burst out laughing, got out of his chair and walked away still laughing.

“Know what? Macken!! Know what???”

****

Bradley was eating his supper, staring moodily at the bowl of stew. The knights were sitting apart from him as his mood hadn’t improved and had, in fact, gotten worse.

Colin sat down beside him, with a steaming bowl of ratatouille. “You OK?”

Bradley glanced at him out of the side of his eyes, then back down at this plate. “Just fine and dandy.”

Colin nodded. “It’s just, you know…everyone is saying that you’re in a really bad mood.”

“Well everyone can just sod off!”

“Soooo…. Everything’s fine then.”

Bradley rounded on him, with fire in his eyes. “Where the hell were you last night?”

“Why?”

“I tried calling you. Johnny said you spent the night in a different hotel.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Why?”

Colin studied his ratatouille with great intensity. “We need to talk.”

“You think? Ever since you’ve come back, you’ve gone all ‘secret agent Colin Morgan’ again. It’s like being back in friggin’ Season 1 again.”

“You ever wonder about me, Bradley?” Colin asked with studied casualness.

“Oh there are many things I wonder about you, Morgan!”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Like…like how you manage to stay alive eating nothing but fruit and vegetables.” Bradley gestured at the ratatouille Colin was eating. “Seriously, would it kill you to eat a cow or a chicken every now and then?”

“I prefer not to. And my system prefers not to, as it happens.”

“And that’s another thing – how can one person be so god-damn allergic to so many things? Seriously Col – it must have been a nightmare being your mother, trying to feed you.”

“She had her challenges.”

Bradley snorted and raised his voice into a falsetto “What shall we feed our Colin today…how about a lovely tomato…oh no, that didn’t work….how about a big glass of milk….oh no, that didn’t work….how about a nice roast chicken…oh no, that didn’t work…’” Bradley’s voice dropped down to normal. “You must have been a walking case of hives and vomit as a kid.”

Colin gave a small smile. “Something like that – and more than a few trips to the hospital and doctor’s office.”

“You’re too damn skinny – like a walking skeleton. Or at least, you were.” Bradley gave Colin a once-over. “At least you’ve put on weight this year – look more like a normal, flesh-eating person.”

Colin laughed and shook his head “Nope, still not flesh-eating.”

“When was the last time you tasted a cow? A chicken? A pig? I’m telling you, if God didn’t want us to eat animals, he wouldn’t have made them taste so good!”

Colin shook his head and dug up another fork-full of ratatouille. “Anything else you’ve wondered about me?”

Bradley shrugged nonchalantly. “I used to wonder about your acting skills.”

Colin looked up in surprise.

“I mean, you were so damn good, right from the get-go. You don’t act out roles, you become them. Used to weird me out the way you could be Colin one moment, and when the director says ‘Action’, you became a totally different person – you are Merlin, not just acting Merlin. Even in that play you did, where all your family is nuts, but you’re even nuttier….”

“You came to see Private Lives?”

“Yeah, well, I read some reviews of it and they were all raving about you so thought I see for myself. I expected to see you up on that stage, or even a bit of Merlin, but there was only your character, and I never, not for one moment, thought “Oh, that’s Colin up on that stage”, you were just so completely that nut-job character. And in that movie where you’re a druggie…”

“You saw Parked too?”

“Yeah, where you’re that Irish druggie – hell, even that wasn’t you. You’re a pasty white Irish boy playing a pasty white Irish boy, but even then, it wasn’t you. It was just that Irish druggie and I completely believed him as a separate person.”

“You’ve never said you’ve seen any of my other work.”

“Well, didn’t want you to get a swelled head or anything.”

“So you’re telling me now?…..”

“I’m just saying, that I think you’re a hell of an actor. And I’ve watched you…studied you….to see how you do it. And you know….” Bradley looked a bit embarrassed. “ … I picked up a tip or two about how you do your thing, how you become so believable on the screen.”

“It shows.”

“How do you mean?” There was a defensive note in Bradley’s voice.

“Just that every where I go, people comment on Season 4. They say that you ‘own’ season 4. They’re talking about how much you’ve improved, how you’ve become Arthur. Seems you’ve even stolen the spotlight from me occasionally.”

Bradley scoffed “Well, that’s not really all that hard to do – dashing hero verses scrawny little runt…” Bradley’s voice tailed off as he once again looked at Colin. “Not quite so scrawny this season.”

Colin just smiled. “So, anything else?”

“About your acting prowess?”

“Anything else about me – that you’ve wondered about….”

“Oh that.” Bradley screwed his face up in thought. “Well, there’s that whole ‘secretive, ambiguous Colin Morgan’ vibe you have going. You’re very good at deflecting attention from yourself. Stopping people from delving too deeply into the mystery that is Colin Morgan.”

Colin smiled a secret smile and Bradley pointed at his mouth. “That! Right there! That ‘I’ve got a secret’ smirk you do. Drives people nuts.”

“I do have a secret.”

“You do?”

“Um-hum”

“Care to share?”

There was a long pause and Bradley was about to say ‘forget it’ when Colin spoke up.

“How…. How well do you know me?”

Bradley was puzzled. “We’ve worked together for over four year. Practically lived in each other’s pockets for most of the time.

“But personally…. Have you ever wondered….”

“Wondered?”

“You know, about my personal life – outside Merlin.”

“Just know what you’ve told me. And I’ve met your mum and dad and brother.”

“Haven’t you ever wondered why you’ve never met anyone else in my life? I’ve met your mum and sisters, and I’ve met some of your girlfriends.”

“Well, I just thought you like to keep things private, out of the spotlight. Always thought that if you met someone special, you’d get around to introducing them – if they were important enough to you.”

There was another long, pregnant pause.

“You have met them.” Colin said quietly.

“What? Who? You’ve never introduced me to any girlfriend.”

“Not a girlfriend.”

Now it was Bradley who paused. “Not….a girlfriend. Someone…else?”

Colin nodded.

“So….you’re saying…..”

“I’m gay, yeah.”

There was a long unbroken silence as Bradley played with the remains of his stew and Colin drank his water.

“Gay?”

“Yeah.”

Another long pause.

“And I’ve met them?”

Colin nodded.

“Who?”

“Ben.”

“Ben?” Bradley cast his mind around searching for anyone named Ben. “Ben who? When did I meet anyone named Ben?”

“Yesterday. Ben…. Benedict.”

Bradley’s jaw dropped open, completely gob-smacked.

“Benedict Cumberbatch???!! Benedict fucking Cumberbatch??” His voice ended on an undignified squeak.

Colin tried not to laugh, and nodded, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “Benedict.”

“Christ almighty Morgan, when you fall out of the closet, you do it with flame-throwers, a fucking parade and a fireworks show! Benedict fucking Cumerbatch?? You couldn’t have picked anyone with a – oh I don’t know, less of a public profile??? How about David Tennant….or…. Stephan Fry….. or Elton fucking John?!”

“David is straight and married, Stephan and Elton are both in committed relationships.”

“Completely not the point!”

Colin shrugged. “Just saying…”

“Benedict fucking Cumberbatch…”

“You should probably stop calling him that.”

“Benedict fuc…! Jesus H Christ! He’s about as well know worldwide as you are. How the hell have you kept this a secret?”

“Some people have guessed. I’m pretty sure the girls know. I think that’s why they were acting so silly yesterday. And Eion and Johnny know.”

“So yesterday, when you didn’t come back to the hotel…”

“I was with Ben.”

“Oh.” And Bradley’s face flamed red.

“Are you going to be OK with this?”

“What? Yeah. I mean, none of my business what you do on your off-hours.” Bradley shrugged off his embarrassment. “So, been going on long? Your relationship I mean.”

“I met him in the fall when I did that guest spot on his show.”

“And it’s good? He’s good? To you – I mean is he good to you…treats you well, that sort of thing.” Bradley stumbled over his words.

Colin’s laugh sounded suspiciously like a giggle.

“Yeah, he treats me well.” His voice when he answered was soft and dreamy. “He’s a good man. Bradley. I think you’d like him if you got to know him.”

“Oh, well, looking forward to it.”

The pause this time was less awkward. Colin took a long drink of water, calming nerves he hadn’t realized he had.

“So…have you always been gay? This isn’t like becoming a vegetarian or anything?”

Colin gulped his water down the wrong way and began choking. An alarmed Bradley smacked him heartily on the back.

“Am I gay like becoming a vegetarian? Did you honestly ask that?” he gasped.

“Well I didn’t mean it like that! I meant – have you always been gay or is it just because you met someone.”

Colin wiped his mouth, then his eyes. He gave Bradley his ‘what the hell?’ face.

“Always been gay, Bradley. It’s not exactly something you choose, like a new pair of jeans.”

“I know that for christsake! Just that some people choose to experiment a bit, until their sure which side of the fence their on.”

“Well I’ve always been on the gay side of the fence. God, Bradley – you are a total tool sometimes!”

‘Hey – you’re the one who wants to make this ‘True Confessions.’ So I’m asking – OK?

“OK” Colin reached for his fruit salad. “Sorry. Just stop being such a…prat.”

Colin ate his fruit salad while Bradley ate his jammy roll and custard.

“So…have there been a lot of…Benedicts? Others that I haven’t noticed or known about?”

“No, there haven’t been a lot of others. And yes, you have missed someone.”

“I did? Someone here? On the cast and crew?”

Bradley could feel Colin retreating from him, hesitating before replying.

“Yes. But that was a long time ago.”

“Someone I know?”

Colin sighed. “Yes, someone you know.”

“Did they know?”

“No, they were completely oblivious. Nothing happened.”

“Who was it?”

Colin’s face flamed and he kept his eyes glued to his fruit salad.

“You.”

Bradley choked on his jammy roll and custard and it was Colin’s turn to back slap.

“Are you serious? Me? When the hell was that?”

Colin dropped his head into his hands “Season 1 and 2”

“1 and 2? Two years and I completely missed it?”

Colin took a deep breath and looked at Bradley square in the eye. “Yes, you completely missed it.”

Bradley thought furiously about season 1 and 2, searching for any clues that he had missed. As far as he could remember, everything had been great. The only thing that had changed had been… He looked up at Colin in dawning recognition.

“You lost weight – you lost a ton of weight in Season 1 and 2. Johnny was frantic that you were wasting away to nothing.”

“Yeah, one of the side affects of unrequited love. That’s when Johnny found out – about me being gay I mean.”

Bradley looked devastated. “Oh god, Colin. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

Colin laughed roughly. “Oh I know you had no idea. That was the problem. You were so ready and willing to be my friend – kept pushing us to do things together, kept hanging around all the time…kept flaunting your girlfriends. It was an interesting time. But not to worry, I got over you. And now I have Ben.”

“But you just found Ben. How did you get over me?”

“I found someone else – and no, I am not going to tell you who. You don’t know them, they’re not famous.”

They sat silently together, both absorbing the conversation.

“I’m really sorry, mate. Not much of a friend if I can’t even see when you’re suffering.”

“Bradley, you couldn’t even see when my lover was sitting right next to you.”

Bradley’s face was an instant and bright red. “Oh Christ!!”

Colin burst out laughing and was soon joined by Bradley. It was a healing laugh, a laugh shared by friends.

“So,” asked Colin. “Are we going to be OK?”

Bradley smiled. “Yeah. We’re going to be OK.”

“Good. Now, I think we need to discuss ways to get back at the girls, don’t you?”


End file.
